In 1880 he was engaged by the U.S. Geological Survey for a study of the California goldfields; afterward, as a consulting engineer, he visited most of the countries of North and South America. Acting as a consulting engineer for British gold interests from 1893, he became a leader of the mining faction whose protests against government policies led to the Jameson Raid (January 1896), an abortive attempt to overthrow the Transvaal government and set ... (100 of 180 words)